One of my favorite bloggers to read these days is Timothy Dalrymple. He's a social conservative and I, being a gay pastor am...not. But even though we probably see things differently, his reasoning has always been solid and reminds me that social conservatives are real people and not simply caricatures. He has an interesting column... Continue Reading →
Part-Time Clergy: Get Used To It.
I don't always agree with Tony Jones, but he's spot on when it comes to the economic future of clergy in mainline churches: At Pangea, Kurt makes good points about the massive debt that many seminarians graduate with. He’s right, they do. And they’re headed straight into a field that pays about $40,000 per year.... Continue Reading →
Death Penalty PR
The following post is adapted from a post on my political blog last month. In all the hubbub surrounding the execution of Troy Davis, there was little mention of another execution taking place in Texas on the same day: As Texas prepares to execute one of his father's killers, Ross Byrd hopes the state shows... Continue Reading →
Being a Teenager Sucks
I found a blog post from the blog Her-menutic that had an interesting perspective on bullying. I can say that I don't agree with the writer's viewpoint on being gay (and she seems to ignore the fact that there is more than one Christian viewpoint on homosexuality), but she does make a point that I... Continue Reading →
When Politics Becomes a Religion
David Brooks has an instructive piece up on how American politics has given way too much meaning to certain issues so as to rob them of any practicality. He uses a lesson which is taking shape as we speak: the building of One World Trade Center in shadow of its predecessors: Ground zero in Lower... Continue Reading →
Sunday Sermon: October 16, 2011
“People, Let Me Tell ‘Bout My Best Friend” Exodus 33:12-23 and Matthew 22:15-22 October 16, 2011 First Christian Church Minneapolis, MN “I pledge allegiance to the Flag, of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” That, of... Continue Reading →
Repost: “Progressive Christians” and Yours Truly
From June of this year. I've been noticing lately within Mainline Protestant circles, the rising use of the word "progressive" as a way to describe Christians who might have once used the term "mainline Protestant." The biggest change to note is over at the religion megasite Patheos, which changed the name of one of their... Continue Reading →
Occupy or Confess?
The whole Occupy Wall Street protests have been fascinating to watch. Even moreso is how Christians respond to the event. I know that there have been clergy taking part and other tweeting positively about the protests, which have now spread around the country. I'm not very sold on the whole thing. Yes, they are talking... Continue Reading →
Discipleship in an Active Age
Presbyterian Pastor John Vest wonders if we need to rethink what it means to be active in a faith community: As a downtown church that draws on individuals and families from all around the Chicagoland area, our youth ministry has always faced some interesting challenges. Our youth come from a variety of schools, so creating... Continue Reading →
Repost: Notes from a Reluctant Liberal Christian
The following post is from January of this year. I've been wanting to write more on this topic and hope to do so in the near future. For now, there's this essay. A few years ago, a dear friend of mine described me as an evangelical turned liberal Protestant. I remember blanching at that definition. ... Continue Reading →
The Clockwork Pastor 